Chromebooks Get Offline Support for Google Play Movies, TV

Good news, Chromebook users. You can now watch movies and TV shows from Google Play offline.

The Web giant this week rolled out an update for its Play Movies and TV Chrome App, bringing support for offline playback. This means you'll now be able to download movies and TV shows to your device, and watch them any time, even when you don't have a Wi-Fi connection.

In addition to the new offline mode, the update includes new Info Cards about the actors and soundtrack songs. Google also improved Chromecast local playback for those watching movies through the Chrome browser. Head over to the Chrome Web Store to download the update now.

The update comes after Google last month announced the offline viewing feature at an event with Intel, where it showed off a variety of new Chromebooks and Chrome-based desktop systems powered by 4th-Generation Core i3 and "Bay Trail M"-class Celeron mobile processors, as well as entry-level Haswell-class desktop chips.

Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, LG Electronics, and Toshiba have promised next-generation Chrome OS-based laptops and other Chrome products, including several fanless Chromebooks sporting the new Celeron processors and promising up to 11 hours of battery life. At Computex, for example HP revealed a refreshed Chromebook 11.

The new Bay Trail M-based Chromebooks from Asus represent the first fanless Chromebook designs and the first to provide such lengthy battery life between charges. Built on Intel's latest low-power Celeron SoCs, the Asus C200 Chromebook and C300 Chromebook are both priced at $249 and will be available for purchase in June.

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
More »

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service